Gauri Kasarla

All of my life, I have believed in reincarnation; my mom would always tell me stories about her family that made me trust in the idea that our souls can transcend across generations, such that we are eternal beings that continue growing and learning with each “life.” After reading Many Lives, Many Masters, I understood how everything is transient; our bodies are mere capsules for our souls and we establish relationships across lifetimes, often crossing paths and overcoming our fears. In my art, I strive to reflect on my life and relationships with my family to convey the idea that some connections supersede the barriers of time and space. Our past lives and current lives define us, as we each try to achieve a state of intellectual and spiritual stillness that I attempt to capture in my art. The fluidity of oil paint appears to me to be a metaphor for our lifetimes: we transform and learn, but at our core, we remain unchanged.